Ultra Music Festival Europe 2015 Croatia…. Cities of Omis and Split

Well.. This was the biggest event and honestly the most go go go part of the trip. The campsite was fun and we really had the “camping” experience. The air mattresses we slept on deflated while we slept and it was very hot in the morning. No real issue with bugs which was great considering I am not a fan of large bugs. The weather was crazy the first night with high winds. Some tents even blew over and one time in the night, I stuck my head out of the tent and saw another tent blow by me! We drank some beers and played cards in the tent while riding out the storm. In the morning the weather was clear and sunny as you would expect after a storm.

We walked into the nearby city of Omis which is a 20 min walk from the campsite. Quaint little town. Great little alleyways with cafes and a jazz festival was going on.

Stacie was craving risotto so we hit up a little café. I had the gnocchi. Yes, those are real shrimp. Not the frozen farm raised shrimp they serve in the USA.

The first night at the festival was a jaw dropper. The Stadium was huge and I have never experienced such an event.

We were in the VIP section which was awesome. 10 years ago I would have loved to be on the main floor – not now. We had space, a table and bottle service. And the best view of the crowd. I love the energy and the fans but I am too old to shove through people, have drinks spilled on me or have my pockets picked. VIP area was the perfect spot for the next 3 nights. Tiesto was the headliner and as the oldest dj there, he didn’t disappoint. Alesso was also amazing. Sat and Sun had a better lineup. There were also more people in attendance on those days. Many locals come for the weekend shows. It starts at 5pm and ends at 5am. We usually went around 9pm. We did go early one night with our Spanish tent neighbors. They had some friends that we met up with outside of the festival and drank beers with.

I met people from 14 countries and there were many more than that at the show. You can’t meet them all. We stayed until 5 am each night. One time we went back to the campsite and went swimming until 9 am with our French neighbors. After that I slept till 4pm…

EAT…EDM…SLEEP…REPEAT

For those of you that don’t know, EDM stands for Electronic Dance Music. It is the blood and soul behind this festival of lovers and dreamers that find so much happiness in this positive music genre. This is exactly how I feel. The international community has been listening to this for decades. It just recently got popular in the “behind the times” USA. Now it definitely is getting the recognition. Who do you think creates all of the music for artists such as Britney Spears, Usher, Jesse J and other pop stars? It is these amazing dj/producers. The US never gave them credit and all we ever knew was the singer or artist. These are the people who deserve all of the glory. Let’s be honest, It takes more talent to create the music than it does to sing it.

My love for this music has spanned over 18 years. From small nightclubs in Portland to Tomorrowland in Belgium and it does not fail you. Most of the producers stay around for over 10 years unlike the “one hit wonder” pop stars we put up with. Calvin Harris is the highest paid Producer – bringing in 60 million last year. More than Justin Beaver! I am happy to see that their hard work is finally visible to the public and they aren’t considered technicians anymore in the credits.

Saturday night was soooo great. Martin Garrix, Axwell, Zedd amd Armin were my favs. I did not arrive in time to see Dash Berlin which I was bummed about. He is one of my top favs.

We would go out and walk the stadium to get the blood flowing and eat some food. The food was limited to hot dogs and wraps which I hope they will change. Tomorrowland had many options and a great all around setup. Ultra used a bracelet for entrance and it had a chip which you loaded money onto and they would scan it to pay for drinks or merchandise.

The last night – Sunday – was my most memorable. We got to see Nicky Romero, David Guetta, Steve Angello and Afrojack play. Hardwell was the headliner but we saw that Dash Berlin was playing on another stage as the headliner. There were 4 stages at the show. The other 3 were located outside on the Stadium grounds. We ran to see him and got there in perfect time.

I was so excited! He really is one of my top 3 fav producers. The stage was much smaller and at 4am it was a perfect end to a very passionate and memorable festival. Thank you Dash Berlin for keeping us in your music and for being so humble.

Above – Dash Berlin and I. Dashers we are!

We decided not to do the island Hvar dance party which would have been fun but we were ready for a bed and real accommodations so we went into Split and got a room for 1 night before departing to Dubrovnik.

It was surprisingly more than expected. I booked a the last minute at a café near the campsite. A 2 story apartment fully equipped with a bedroom on the bottom floor and the kitchen with W/D on the top. And less than 80USD/night! Less than the price of a private room in a hostel. Hostels now are not so cheap unless you select to sleep in a dorm room with many different sounds and smells from people all night..haha.. not for me.

Split is a very fun little city. There is a large Roman Palace located on the waterfront which now has a lot of shops and restaurants. We had a great meal in the Palace.. I had double dipped pork ribs! – unbelievable. The Palace is fun to walk around and learn some history.

Is the food coming? So hungry!

Above – The Romans would look though this hole in the roof to view the Gods and the Astrological signs. The Palace was huge. Split had such a beautiful port.

We had a fun 1 night in Split.. Now its time to hit the bus station and head down to Dubrovnik for a few days. Till then…